Second City to Sin City

Words by Tom Reynolds, photography by Luke Douglas. @peak.divide

In Kae Tempest’s book, On Connection, they talk about, predictably, connection but more accurately about the concept of creative connection.

The idea that creativity is not the preserve only of art-makers, rather it applies to “anything you do that requires your focus, skill and ingenuity”.

They go on to de-mystify creativity and connection with a list of creative, connected endeavours, including, but not limited to:

”Anyone who has cooked an important meal for people they love.”

”Thrown a punch.”

”Received one.”

”Put themselves second.”

”Genuinely gone out of their way for somebody else.”

”Found themselves at the edge of their sanity or at the edge of their experience.”

Tempest says if you’ve felt these, you’ve felt connected.

They also go on to quote William Blake at length, more of which later, but for now, let’s focus on the list.

In which, minus the punches (received or thrown), Tempest pretty much describes the storm that was Peak Divide x The Speed Project 2024.

It began with a teacup.

Teacups, more accurately, around Stef Amato’s house in the winter of 2023.

Myself (Tom Reynolds), Stef and Luke Douglas were having a planning meeting about our trail running event the Peak Divide.

We were just back from a little gravel bikepacking adventure (appropriate, given that is how we all met) but our heads, and notepads were full of running.

Trail running specifically. The Peak Divide is a trail run from Manchester-Sheffield, predicated entirely around the concept of journeying further than you thought possible, in your own time.

It draws heavily on our bikepacking backgrounds and leans into the concept of a slow adventure.

Journeying.

We use words like ‘shuffle’ a lot.

There’s deliberately no clock or method to time the runners.

It’s a platform for the ultra-curious to give back-to-back marathons a go.

It’s resolutely a “journey not a race”. So said The Guardian, circa 2023.

The concept emerged in a Manchester pub in early 2022 when, again after a bikepacking adventure, a slightly-tipsy Luke posed a slightly ridiculous question.

“Do you think we could run to Sheffield next weekend? From here.”

Turns out - we bikepackers could fast slow pack.

Turns out - A-B adventures on foot can be just as much focused on food and frolicking as they are on bikes.

Turns out - Stef’s penchant for alfresco pasta preparation, complete with fresh parmesan obvs, is still possible a pied.

Out of that reckless recce came an A-B journey, city-to-city journey on foot that in April 2024 hosted 207 trail shufflers in the Peak District with more to come in September’s Lakes Divide.

Two years later, bib shorts on (again) but night time tea, not pints, in hand, I brought something similarly outrageous to the table.

“Do you fancy running from Los Angeles to Las Vegas next March? It’s a race, called The Speed Project.”

To catch up.

Stef and Luke said yes to the suggestion that a slowpacking trio based around slow travel take on the so-called “coolest event in running.”

A race with speed in the title, and its veins.

The Speed Project is the brainchild of Nils Arend.

Arend was born in Germany and made his first creative connections as a teenager organising underground raves in a Hamburg brothel called The Fuck Shop.

In his 20s, and now living in the USA, his next addiction came in the form of running long distances with friends – as fast as possible and, wherever possible, in the same underground, unsanctioned fuck it spirit of the Fuck Shop days.

In 2013 that spirit saw him create The Speed Project – a relay race from Los Angeles to Las Vegas that has no route, no rules and no website.

The only way in is via Nils’ WhatsApp number, which, luckily, I had, having interviewed him previously.

Anyway, that’s more than enough. We’re a long way from Blake.

The point is, on paper TSP is diametrically opposed to the PD penchant for shuffling.

Luckily, TSP is a six-person race.

So while I was feeling like I’d had more than enough somewhere between Barstow and Las Vegas, there were three more hitters ready to step in.

Twenty-four hours earlier one of said speedsters hit the ground running for Team PD at the TSP start, Santa Monica Pier.

Katie Sloane kicked us off.

She is the co-owner of Summat cafe/gym/personal training haven in Sheffield. Business, and life, partner Sam Village was also in the squad - as Team PD’s coach, masseuse and confidant.

Tom Hill, another hugely-capable and, crucially, fast runner and cyclist (we were entered in The Speed Project remember) was also on the team sheet along with Michael Doughty, founder of Hylo Athletics and former Premier League footballer.

It was an all British affair so we had that in common.

But there was, like the Speed Project at large, plenty of juxtapositions.

Katie is mega fast for example. And I most certainly am not.

Luke grew up playing football for Penrith Under-16s B team; Michael strutted his stuff in the Premier League for QPR.

You get the picture.

But much like Katie digging me out of more than a few holes in taking on extra kilometres here and there, Tempest, via Blake, digs a little deeper into TSP x PD’s meaning on an existential level with this quote.

“Without contraries there is no progression.”

Arend knows a thing or two about contraries.

His love of juxtapositions is a big part of the reason why we (the PD trio of Luke, Tom and Stef) took on the challenge.

On paper, Peak Divide and The Speed Project don’t have heaps in common.

But, speed/slow aside there was a lot that appealed.

TSP is an A-B event. A journey between two cities that celebrates and leans into the beauty in between.

They’re also both events in which runners (and vehicles in TSP’s case) often move in small convoys, making connections and sharing kilometres and experiences along the way.

And, especially with TSP, it creates a connection and shared team experience in which you find something else, for someone else.

In the few hours of our LA-LV race this was prevalent more than most. Sam’s fastidious plan (working in pods of two throughout most of the 550km, running 2 x sets of 5km each, with said partner riding alongside on a Ventum bike for moral support) went out of the window.

By this point, whoever could run did, usually Katie, and those 5km legs became 4 then 3,2,1.

Our hap-hazard half dozen was fully connected.

Constructing a plan on the fly. Creating memories and connections that will live long forever in the memory.

And no doubt would have sat well with Kae Tempest.

And William “The most sublime act is to set another before you” Blake. And, Beyonce.

Who provided the Las Vegas RV arrival music (“Texas Hold Em”) and a slightly less profound treatise for Team PD’s final act of TSP 2024. One last run.

“To the first bar that we found.”